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Brookline is a town of about 63,000 people bordering Boston on three sides, just west of the Fenway and Longwood Medical Area. Although it feels like part of the city, with Green Line trolleys running through its busy commercial streets, it has remained an independent town with its own tree-lined neighborhoods, parks and historic homes.
Brookline is the birthplace of President John F. Kennedy, whose childhood home on Beals Street is now a National Historic Site, and the home of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, whose Fairsted office is also preserved by the National Park Service. Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village are lively neighborhood centers with independent shops, restaurants and the Art Deco Coolidge Corner Theatre.
Larz Anderson Park offers sweeping hilltop views and the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, home to the oldest motorcar collection in the United States. Brookline Reservoir Park, Hall's Pond Sanctuary and Allandale Farm add green space within easy reach of downtown Boston.
The modest house on Beals Street where John F. Kennedy was born in 1917, restored by his mother Rose to look as it did during his early childhood. Rangers lead tours of the family rooms and furnishings. The site is open seasonally, usually from late spring to autumn, and tours are free but limited in size.
Fairsted, the home and design office of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, preserved with its drafting rooms, plans archive and landscaped grounds. Ranger tours explain how parks from Central Park to Boston's Emerald Necklace were designed. Check the seasonal tour schedule.
Housed in a turreted carriage house built for the wealthy Anderson family, this museum keeps the oldest motorcar collection in the United States, with early electric and gas cars from the 1890s onward. Changing exhibits and summer lawn car shows draw enthusiasts. Allow about an hour and a half.
Brookline's largest park, created on the former estate of Larz and Isabel Anderson, with a hilltop lawn offering views of the Boston skyline, a lagoon, sports fields and a seasonal outdoor skating rink. It is popular for picnics, kite flying and sledding in winter. Parking is near the auto museum.
A historic reservoir built in the 1840s as part of Boston's early water system and now a peaceful park with a gravel path around the water. The loop is under a mile, making it popular with walkers, joggers and families. The old stone gatehouse is a pretty landmark. It is near the Reservoir stop on the Green Line.
A nonprofit Art Deco movie house that has shown films since the 1930s, presenting independent, foreign and classic movies along with midnight screenings and talks. The main auditorium keeps its historic decor. Buy tickets online for popular screenings, and grab dinner on Harvard Street before the show.
Brookline's best-known commercial district, centered on Harvard and Beacon streets, with independent bookstores, cafes, international restaurants, shops and the Coolidge Corner Theatre. The Green Line C branch stops right here. It is a good place to wander, browse books and eat, especially on weekend afternoons.
The town's oldest commercial center around Washington Street, with 19th-century brick buildings, antique shops, small restaurants and the Brookline Town Hall nearby. The Green Line D branch stops at Brookline Village station. It is quieter than Coolidge Corner and close to the Emerald Necklace parks.
A small nature sanctuary beside Amory Park with a pond, boardwalks through wetland and a formal garden, managed by the town. Despite its city setting, it attracts herons, ducks and songbirds. It is a quiet spot for a short walk or birding, and pairs well with the playground and fields of neighboring Amory Park.
A working farm on the Brookline-Boston border, often called the last working farm within Boston's city limits. Its farm stand sells organic vegetables, flowers, baked goods and local foods, and there are seasonal events for families. It is open mainly from spring to late autumn, so check hours before you visit.
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